Proposed new legislative sexual harassment policy 2016

For several months, a taskforce looked at ways to change the sexual harassment policy for the Tennessee House of Representatives. This policy is based on that panel's recommendations, and could go into effect at some point in July 2016.

TENNESSEE GENERAL ASSEMBLY POLICY ON WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION
AND HARASSMENT
PURPOSE: To ensure a work environment free of discrimination and harassment of
any individual because of that person's race, color, national origin, age (40 and over),
sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status or any other category
protected by state or federal civil rights laws.
APPLICATION: To all members of the General Assembly, full-time employees, parttime and hourly employees, interns, and contract employees.
POLICY: It is the policy of the General Assembly to provide an environment free of
discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Any employee or member of the General
Assembly engaged in any form of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation is subject to
corrective action.
This policy has been developed to prevent discrimination,
harassment, and retaliation and to ensure that complaints are investigated and resolved
quickly and in a manner that is fair to all.
EXAMPLES OF PROHIBITED CONDUCT: The General Assembly will not permit
conduct that includes, but is not limited to, the following:


Workplace Discrimination and Harassment: Unequal and unlawful treatment of an
individual on the basis of a person's race, color, national origin, age (40 and over), sex,
pregnancy, religion, creed, disability, or veteran's status or any other category protected
by state or federal civil rights laws. It prohibits any unwelcome, verbal, written physical
conduct, or electronic communication that either degrades or shows hostility or aversion
towards a person because of that person's race, color, national origin, age (40 and over),
sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, disability, or veteran's status or any other category
protected by state or federal civil rights laws.



Hostile Work Environment: An environment that a reasonable person would consider
hostile or abusive and the person who is the object of the harassment perceives it to be
hostile or abusive. A hostile work environment is determined by looking at all of the
circumstances including, but not limited to: (1) the frequency of the alleged harassing
conduct; (2) the severity of the alleged harassing conduct; (3) whether the alleged
harassing conduct was physically threatening or humiliating; and (4) whether the alleged
harassing conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an
employee's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive
environment.



Sexual Harassment: Any unwelcome sexual advance, request for favors, and other
verbal, written, or physical conduct of a sexual nature by a manager, supervisor, or coworker, including interns or volunteers. Certain actions may also create a hostile work
environment as described above.



Retaliation:
Any act of reprisal, interference, restraint, penalty, discrimination,
intimidation, or harassment against an individual or individuals exercising rights under
this policy.

COMPLAINT PROCEDURE:
Reporting: Any person, including, but not limited to, any member, any employee, any
visitor, or any guest, who believes that he or she has been the subject of discrimination,
harassment, or retaliation should report the incident immediately to any of the following
individuals:


Any staff Director;



The Chief Clerks of the Senate and the House of Representatives;



The Speaker of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Other supervisory personnel who receive a complaint alleging discrimination,
harassment, or retaliation or have personal knowledge of conduct that may violate this
policy must immediately report any such event to the Director of Legislative
Administration or to any of the above individuals.
Investigation: Complaints will be reported to the respective Speaker(s). The
Speaker(s) will assign the complaint to the Director of Legislative Administration for
immediate investigation. If the complaint involves a Speaker, the complaint will be
reported to the appropriate Chief Clerk and assigned to the Director of Legislative
Administration for immediate investigation. If the complaint involves an employee of the
Office of Legislative Administration, the Speaker(s) will assign the investigation to the
appropriate Chief Clerk.
The investigation will be thorough, neutral and timely. The investigation will include, but
not be limited to, collecting information from all parties who may have been involved in,
have knowledge of, or been a witness to the discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
If necessary, protective measures will be taken for the safety of the parties and any
other impacted employees.
If the investigation involves a member of the Senate, upon conclusion of the staff
investigation, the complaint will be referred to the Committee on Ethics pursuant to Rule
85 of the Senate Rules of Order.
If the investigation involves a member of the House of Representatives, upon
conclusion of the staff investigation, the complaint will be referred to the appropriate
committee appointed by the Speaker or as provided in the House Rules of Order.

Corrective Action: If the investigation reveals a violation of the policy, prompt
corrective action will be taken to stop the discrimination, harassment, or retaliation and
to prevent its recurrence. Actions taken will be based on the individual circumstances of
the situation. An employee or member may be subjected to disciplinary action for
conduct which, although not a violation of state or federal law, nevertheless constitutes
a violation of this policy.
Upon a determination that a violation of the policy has occurred by an employee or
intern, a report shall be issued to the Speaker(s). The report shall not include the name
of any victim or witness. The report shall be included in the violator's personnel file and
shall be subject to public disclosure.
If the committee determines that a violation of the policy has occurred by a
Representative, a report shall be issued to the Speaker of the House. The report shall
not include the name of any victim or witness. The report shall be included in the
violator's personnel file and shall be subject to public disclosure.
CONFIDENTIALITY:
Confidentiality of the parties involved in a complaint or
investigation will be maintained to the greatest extent possible without compromising
the thoroughness of the investigation. No information concerning a complaint will be
released to anyone not directly involved in an investigation, a lawsuit, the
implementation of corrective action, or as otherwise required by law.